Jimmy Ba, a co-founder of Elon Musk’s artificial intelligence venture xAI, has become the sixth founding member to depart the company, marking another high-level exit amid mounting internal tensions and sweeping restructuring efforts.
Ba, who oversaw research, safety and enterprise initiatives at the AI start-up, confirmed his departure publicly, expressing appreciation to Musk while indicating he would remain supportive of the team. His exit follows that of Tony Wu, head of xAI’s reasoning division, who recently stepped down, the fifth co-founder to leave from the original 12-person founding group established in 2023.
The leadership departures come at a sensitive moment for xAI, which is grappling with competitive pressures, ambitious product timelines and a major corporate restructuring tied to Musk’s broader technology empire.
Mounting Technical and Operational Strain
Multiple researchers have also exited in recent weeks, thinning the company’s technical ranks. According to individuals familiar with the situation, internal frustrations have grown over aggressive development targets as xAI races to compete with industry leaders such as OpenAI and Anthropic.
Some staff reportedly felt that technical progress had been overstated to Musk, resulting in heightened expectations and intensified pressure on engineering teams.
Central to these challenges is “MacroHard,” xAI’s coding and autonomous agent initiative designed to rival advanced AI programming tools like OpenAI’s Codex and Anthropic’s Claude Code. Musk has articulated sweeping ambitions for the project, suggesting it could eventually replicate the full capabilities of a human operating a computer.
However, insiders say the project has struggled to meet performance expectations.
AI Companions and Public Scrutiny
xAI’s AI “companions,” including character-driven interactive bots, have also underperformed relative to engagement targets. Despite expanded resources and new character launches, user interaction levels have reportedly fallen short of internal projections.
The company has additionally faced regulatory and reputational scrutiny. Its Grok chatbot has drawn international criticism over misuse involving explicit and harmful content requests. Previous controversies, including problematic outputs on social media, forced product adjustments.
These issues have placed additional strain on leadership as Musk reviews departmental performance and restructures operational teams.
SpaceX Merger and Public Market Ambitions
The turbulence coincides with Musk’s plan to combine xAI with SpaceX, creating a technology conglomerate reportedly valued at $1.5 trillion. The merger is expected to support Musk’s long-term vision of deploying satellite-based data centres capable of running advanced AI systems from orbit.
Beyond strategic alignment, the integration also offers a pathway to fund xAI’s capital-intensive needs including semiconductor acquisition, electricity, and data centre infrastructure.
Musk is reportedly targeting a public listing of the combined entity as early as June, adding urgency to internal reforms.
Leadership changes have accompanied the transition. Manuel Kroiss has taken on expanded responsibilities in coding operations, while Anthony Armstrong was appointed chief financial officer and Jonathan Shulkin chief revenue officer as Musk reshapes the executive team.
The exits of Ba and other founding members underscore the pressures facing one of the world’s most closely watched AI ventures as it attempts to scale rapidly under the leadership of a billionaire known for setting audacious technological targets.